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4/9/18

My Reading Journey [1] - Elementary School

I've had this post sitting in my drafts since March, but have finally decided to write it. I've been doing a lot of thinking about how my reading tastes have changed since I started blogging, but also how they have changed since I was a child! I haven't decided how many parts this series will be, but I'd like to take you all on a journey, my reading journey.

I have always been a reader. Whether it was reading the coloured comics on the weekend (pictured above) or taking weekly trips at the library to borrow stacks of books, my nose was constantly buried in some type of reading material.

I loved unending series, from Sweet Valley to Babysitter's Club to the Thoroughbred series. I loved the predictability of coming back to the same characters over and over again, as they faced new challenges and adversity. Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield were my all-time favourites, as I identified so profoundly with Elizabeth, but secretly wished that I was a little bit more like Jessica.

Although my mother was happy that I was such a devoted bookworm, she definitely wasn't quite as happy about my reading choices. She picked up a Sweet Valley High book one summer, and then made it her mission to have me read better quality books. I appeased her by gobbling up Black Beauty, the Black Stallion series, Little Women and anything else that she recommended, while also covertly borrowing stacks of my favourites as well. At the time, I wished that she would simply let me read what I wanted to read, but now I'm glad that I can say that I've read all of those classics. Fortunately, we agreed on Nancy Drew and I had her blessing to read as many mysteries as I wanted.

In Grade 7, amidst being bullied by my former best friend, a girl in my Pathfinder group introduced me to Piers Anthony and I fell head over heels. I'd always liked books featuring unicorns as a little girl, but this was adult fantasy and I devoured the entire Xanth series, as well as the Adept series. At 13, this was my first foray into adult literature, and it wouldn't be my last.